Change of government boosts interest in state schools
In news that will have provoked a chorus of the world’s smallest violins to play, well-to-do parents across the UK have admitted they are having to consider not sending their children to public school. With the proposed introduction of a 20% value added tax on private school tuition fees, there has reportedly been an 80% surge in internet searches for the top state secondary schools in the country since the 2024 general election.
While public school in the USA means a school for members of the public to attend for free, a linguistic sleight of hand in England and Wales means the opposite is true in British English. State school is the kind available free at the point of use there, while a ‘public school’ is actually a fee-charging private school, defined as ‘public’ in the sense of being open to any pupil irrespective of locality, as long as they can afford it.
The period leading up to the general election in 2024 saw many public schools in turmoil – with Labour coasting to a supermajority, having pledged to introduce a historic 20% VAT tax for private school fees. Until now, private schools have not had to contend with VAT because of a legal exemption for organisations providing education.
This has been a bone of contention in Britain for generations – as it not only allows wealthier families to disregard the state of the education system poorer children have to use, but they can channel funds into improving private resources that the wider population cannot access. This has long been argued to be a way in which working class students are priced out of obtaining high-standards of education, and hinders social mobility.
Proponents of taxing public/private schools suggest that the funds raised can help resource state schools better – while also ensuring more parents take an interest in the condition of those institutions, because they might have to actually send their children there if funds get tight. If new data from The Digital PR Agency is anything to go by, the latter may already be happening.
Following Labour's landslide victory in the election, parents in some communities across the nation are increasingly anxious about their ability to afford higher fees and the future of their children's private education.1As a result, the volume of Google searches for "best state secondary schools in UK" rose by 80%, and searches for "how many state schools in the UK" increased by 50% between July 3rd and 11th.
This suggests many parents are concerned they may not be able to afford private education under Labour’s plans and are considering state options. However, this might not inherently mean they are going to help usher in a new golden age in state education. The study also found that there had been a 300% hike in searches like “how does homeschooling work?” and a 200% increase in “the pros and cons of homeschooling”.
The study did not elaborate on exact numbers of either groups of searches – only percentage increases. So the actual number of searches on either front might be relatively low. However, it is clear in at least some cases that parents keen to give their children a head-start in life (one which many of them, and their own parents may also have had) have become desperate enough to either engage with the state education system. The heart bleeds.
